A few weeks ago, I sat in my special place on the patio in our garden. The breeze started to build as God prepared to rain his blessing on our little world. Every time it rains, I rejoice.

I worked all day, digging in the soil and moving river rock. We placed our prized and precious Passion Vine in the ground, preparing a new home for this recent addition to our Butterfly garden. This beautiful and meaningful vine has been in our garden for a week, but we had much to do to prepare for its dwelling place at La Nicoise Café and Butterfly Garden (pronounced La-Nick-Qua). We named our butterfly garden after a French café in Georgetown, Washington, DC. I went there once with friends as a teenage hippie to dine in its quaint splendor. The waiters and waitresses were on roller skates as they rolled from table to table on the wooden floor. What a glorious experience. I digress with wonderful memories, and rejoice in them also, but the garden, the garden is my focus today.

As I was saying, I spent the day moving dirt and river rock from the front of our property to the back. There is something special about hard work, the garden, and the splendor that only God can provide in his heart of blessing. We are a team, my Gardener, God, and I! I rejoice in the time we share.

I stopped before the sun went down, and the breeze built in anticipation of the nourishing rain. Joy filled my heart as drops of God’s water began to fall. Often, I walk through the garden, if it is a gentle rain, and rejoice with the feeling of the water running down my face. Even in the rain, cardinals appeared and join the chorus. The breeze and the falling drops of God’s water provide a gentle rhythm. Oh yes, there is rejoicing in the garden!

In our lives, we are surrounded by the tension of what was, what is and what will be. I can’t change what was, I can only learn from it. I can’t always change what is going on around me, but I can change how I react to it. How I apply what I learned from what was, and how I react to what is, has an impact on what will be. God taught me that what I do today affects my tomorrow. So, I embrace the tension and refuse to allow it to ruin the joy I share with my gardener. We have fun in the rain, and I sing to his glory. The light of my gardener shines over me.

So, no matter what is happening, even when it’s raining, God always provides light. Sometimes I just need to look for it. My gardener is faithful! He turns my mourning in these tough times (I am writing this in 2020) to dancing and singing as I rejoice and rest from my labor. “Lord, I give thanks to you forever. I will walk in your Garden with my head held high in praise and I will follow you to the end of my days. Be my refuge and strength in these tough times, Lord. I will dance and sing with you in the Garden forever.”

In the tension of your day, and especially in the rain, may you seek your gardener, God, in every way. May you walk and dance with him as he joins you in the rain. And may his light shine over you.

“You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever!” ~~ Psalm 30:11-12